Driven Episcopal football team off to dominant start

Jack Marrion

Published 4:11 pm, Monday, September 12, 2016

Photo: Kevin Long/GulfCoastShots.com

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Walker Little (75), Gavin Geib (15), Matthew Leggett (87) and the Episcopal defense held opponents to 21.7 points per game during a 9-2 season last fall. Even with Geib starting at quarterback this year, the Knights have held their first three opponents to an average of 16 points. less

Walker Little (75), Gavin Geib (15), Matthew Leggett (87) and the Episcopal defense held opponents to 21.7 points per game during a 9-2 season last fall. Even with Geib starting at quarterback this year, the ... more

Photo: Kevin Long/GulfCoastShots.com

Driven Episcopal football team off to dominant start

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The Episcopal football team brought back enough talent from last year’s Southwest Conference Preparatory finalist to produce another successful season. Adding the sting of that SPC final loss, the Knights surely did not lack for motivation during preseason workouts.

Through three weeks of the 2016 season, the Knights’ ability and drive have been apparent on the field. They entered SPC play with a 3-0 record, including last week’s 45-27 victory at Brenham.

“I would say this team, considering the way it ended last year, the way we went out in the SPC championship, that put a lot of fire in the bellies of the kids,” Episcopal coach Steve Leisz. “They worked really hard this summer and they’re playing right where they want to be. This is what we expected.”

Episcopal has been as impressive as their record would suggest, outscoring opponents 173-48. The Knights blitzed Beaumont Ozen 58-0 before overwhelming defending TAPPS Division I champion Plano Prestonwood Christian 70-21.

Episcopal dominated again at Brenham, taking a 31-0 halftime lead and allowing only one first down and 17 yards to that point. Jacob LeVrier scored on runs of 62, 44 and 72 yards, finishing with 233 yards.

Jaylen Waddle caught touchdown passes of 44, 8 and 22 from Gavin Geib. Avery Edwards and Jordan Wells both had two receptions, while Carlos Valdez added a 35-yard field goal to his six point-after kicks.

While several players have excelled, Geib has been a key to the strong start after transitioning from linebacker to quarterback. He passed for 288 yards on only 20 attempts against the Cubs.

“Our last three quarterbacks have been athletic and have kind of had to wait their turn, playing a different position on the field,” Leisz said. “Gavin led the team in tackles last year. He’s an incredible athlete and will be an asset at Penn next year.”

While reloading at some positions, the Knights returned the bulk of their starting lineup for 2016. As a result, Episcopal has not exhibited much of a learning curve in the early going.

“It all starts with Gavin at quarterback,” Leisz said. “His maturity level to lead the offense and get them right, has been a big plus. Defensively, we’ve got some kids back as well. We lost the secondary, so a big focus coming into summer was to replace them. Kids have stepped up and done a great job.”

The Knights’ outside preseason expectations and early play have drawn some attention. MaxPreps.com had Episcopal No. 88 in the nation in its computer rankings after its victory against Prestonwood.

But it will not be difficult for Episcopal to maintain focus in a deep SPC Class 4A. The Knights open conference play Sept. 16 in Dallas at St. Mark’s. After that is their non-district finale Sept. 23 at home against St. Thomas, followed by a home date Sept. 30 against rival Kinkaid, the defending SPC champion.

“St. Mark’s, every time we play them it’s a competitive game,” Leisz said. “That’s a proud school and they play incredibly hard. We don’t expect anything different. All Saints, we’ve never played them before. They have a great program. Kinkaid is playing well. Houston Christian is playing well. It’s going to be a competitive conference.”